I recently attended a forum. The keynote speaker, Professor Jiang Haishan is vice president of China Executive Leadersship Academy (Pudong). He offered a comprehensive briefing on China's political system and an insight into the 18th CPC National Congress. In front of consul generals, media outlets and high-profile business figures, he confidently invited questions, "whatever you may want to know, simply voice it, don't sidestep and shy away, as no question is too sensitive for me."

I grabbed this opportunity to ask his viewpoint about the CPC national congress report on Hong Kong affairs. I reckon Jiang's interpretation on the issue to be more accurate in matching the true message delivered by the CPC report - the "official version" of the central government's attitude and approach to Hong Kong, even though he proclaimed what he said reflected only what he thought in his full capacity as a scholar.

According to Professor Jiang's analysis, the CPC report reaffirms the relationship between the central government and the HKSAR, "the underlying goal of the principles and policies adopted by the central government concerning Hong Kong and Macao is to safeguard China's sovereignty, security and development interests, and maintain long-term prosperity and stability of the two SARs."

Judging by virtue of the Chinese semantics, one can obviously sense that the nation's sovereignty, security and development come first - "One Country" should undoubtedly precede "Two Systems", although the two are integral.

The report goes further by emphasizing "we must adhere to the one-China principle and respect the differences of the two systems, uphold the central government's authority and ensure a high degree of autonomy in the SARs... at no time should we focus only on one side to the neglect of the other." The accurate reading of this paragraph should be: China is a unitary state ruled and governed by a central authority. Any attempt to advocate "de-Sinofication" or "Hong Kong independence" is not allowed.

The CPC report also implies the central government's jurisdiction over the Hong Kong SAR may be further institutionalized and formularized. "The central government will act in strict accordance with the Basic Law, improve work mechanisms for their reinforcement, and firmly support the chief executives and governments of the SARs." As many columnists have already pointed out, this sentence carries considerable significance and leaves much room for imagination, but one unmistakable message is that since political forces opposed to the central government and bent on messing up Hong Kong are still very much alive, naturally more concrete measures are needed to change the situation.

Tracing back to the past, we can see that the CPC has always adjusted its Hong Kong policies and measures according to its national development strategies and actual needs of the city. The primary purpose of the Hong Kong-related policies set by PRC founding leaders was "to pierce through the blockade by the US-led Western camp against China, by maintaining Hong Kong's status as a free port."

After the handover in 1997, the cooperation between Hong Kong and the motherland has been increasingly deepened. Hong Kong can now undertake an even greater role in contributing more to the country's opening up and reform. There is not much room to ensure Hong Kong's long-term stability and prosperity if the city stays in self-imposed isolation without the nation's backup.

Therefore, to best utilize the "One Country, Two Systems" policy, benefit from the country's strategic development and enhance Hong Kong's competitiveness, we truly need to acquire an accurate, all-round understanding and implication of the "One Country, Two Systems", "Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong" and "High degree of autonomy" principles reaffirmed by the CPC report.

As part of China, Hong Kong people should share the respect and glory as other Chinese nationals both home and aboard. The "Chinese nation's renaissance" - a prosperous, strong, democratic and civilized country, is what Chinese people have strived for centuries. Chinese people have never been so confident to bring to realization the dream as they are today.

The author is a current affairs commentator.

(HK Edition 12/04/2012 page3)